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Boomerang Illustration © Amu Endo
May 2019
The UCSA through the years by Meike Eijsberg
Today we celebrate the 20th birthday of the University College Student Association. A reason worthy of a big celebration on the quad. But what happened throughout the past 20 years? In order to find out, I contacted a handful of former UCSA board members and interviewed them about their days at this beautiful campus. So whilst you soak up the sunshine and enjoy your examfree days, take this opportunity to read up on your UCSA history. Who knows, you might learn something new.
about it: a lasting contribution to the accessibility of UCU.” When the day finally arrived, it was without doubt a success. A lot was organized: a symposium, a fair, parties and a Lustrum book commemorating 5 years of the UCSA. Joris recalls a particular event: “I remember wrestling the BarCo Chair in sumo suits during the fair. I forgot who won.”
Humble origins It all started in September 1998. Although UCU had only opened its doors a few months prior, several committees had already been set up. None of them had budget, and had to personally request it via College Hall. But the number of committees was increasing which made it nearly impossible for College Hall to evaluate every single budget request, whilst doing its regular work at the same time. Five individuals, Maarten Stikkelman, Carolien van Oene, Simcha Jong, Joeri Maas and Lara Yocarini, therefore came up with the bright idea that these various committees needed a group that would coordinate them. After pitching the idea to College Hall and sorting out the statutes, the first UCSA board was then officially born on April 1st, 1999.
Upholding the tradition Fast forward ten years and things are looking a little bit different. The UCSA is still a young teenager, at 15 years old, but is growing into a bigger and better institution every day. In these days, every Kromhout unit still had its own laundry and dryer, Sodexo had just taken over from Eurest as caterer, the clock tower was emptied due to asbestos, and Maarten Diederix turned the football field into an ice rink when it froze. The 2013/2014 board, chaired by Sil Boedi Scholte, implemented a lot of policies that are still visible today. The standardized budget form for committees, for example, was introduced that year along with the custom to share the entire collection with all students. That was not all. “We made big changes to the statutes and the policy manual together with the students during one of the longest General Assemblies ever, in order to shift more power from the UCSA board to the students,” Sil explained.
A first-time celebration The first Lustrum was a grand one. A special committee was set up to help organize this celebration. Not only did the current UCSA board
at that time contribute, but so did the previous one. Joris Wiemer, chair of the 2003/2004 UCSA board remembers: “Claire Stamrood, treasurer of Board Year 2002/2003, chaired this committee. This made a lot of sense, as the board of 2002/2003 had laid a lot of groundwork for the Lustrum, including a basic outline and a budget for activities to be organized throughout the year.” A special General Assembly was even organized to discuss the Lustrum budget. But as the celebration date was drawing closer, the UCU community started to realize that a lot of money was being spent on all these various activities. “A heated debate ensued, triggered by a Boomerang article actually,” Joris explained. “There were divergent expectations, both intercultural and interpolitical, on how extensively to celebrate the Lustrum.” The discussion sparked a debate about what was important to the people that would be celebrating the Lustrum. In the end, it was decided that a part of the budget would be allocated to the scholarship fund. Joris was definitely happy with it: “A great outcome if you think
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UCU versus UCU 2
A course (evaluation) of our own
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Bar brawl: board trips
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Groupthink at the GA Journalism in Mexico
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Curriculum Planning 9